Professional Services Contract for Cambridgeshire County Council

Description

The Highways and Transport Services delivered by the Council impact on the lives of everyone living, working, learning, and travelling in the County every day. The Council needs to ensure that it is in a position to respond to the changing needs of Cambridgeshire's residents, meeting both short and long-term challenges, whilst also providing support to the people that need us most. In March 2025 the Highways and Transport Committee approved a procurement strategy for the future commissioning and delivery of highways and transport. The main goal of this strategy is to secure best value in the management of these Services by improving the efficiency, effectiveness and the customer experience of these Services. This will be based on engaging the appropriate segment of the market to deliver the best results for the service the Council needs to procure. The Council has sought to appoint an experienced Consultant who fundamentally understands and shares its' long-term vision of a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire to Provide the Service. The Consultant will work collaboratively with the Council to deliver the Councils Strategic Framework 2023 - 2028 through achieving best value in the management of the highway network for the benefit of all communities that use Cambridgeshire's highway infrastructure. The Council anticipates that the Services required under the Professional Services Contract ("PSC") will consist of: - Transport Solutions - Project Delivery Studies - Consultation and Stakeholders - Planning and Statutory Services - Design Services (feasibility, preliminary and detailed) - Commercial Services - Surveys and investigation - Environmental Services - Future Mobility Services - Construction Phase Services - Any other relevant/related Services The Council has an existing in-house design team, so it is looking to supplement and support that through the PSC. To do this, it needs access to technical specialities over and above simple design resource and the PSC will also be used to represent the Council with other suppliers e.g. through construction management. It intends to appoint a single provider, for an initial term of four years, with the option to extend for a further period or periods of up to an additional three years, resulting in a total potential duration of up to seven years. Any mobilisation period between the Contract Date and the Service Commencement Date is separate from, and in addition to, the Service period set out in this Tender Notice. The Services will be instructed entirely by Task Order under the contractual mechanism and that there is no minimum guaranteed volume or value of work under the Contract. The Council reserves the right to place Services similar to the service under this Contract with other service providers or to carry them out itself or not at all. Task Orders may be instructed at any time up until the final day of the Service Period and in the event, there is unfinished work under Task Orders at the end of the Service Period the Service Period will be extended until those Task Orders are complete. Interested parties should refer to the draft Contract in the associated tender documents for further details. Under the wider Local Government Reform (LGR) agenda the Government has stated its intention to restructure remaining two-tier areas in England into single tier unitary authorities. This programme aims to streamline local government structures, improve accountability, and achieve efficiencies. As Cambridgeshire currently operates under a two-tier system, LGR is expected to affect the Council during the lifetime of this Contract. As the timing and scale of these changes are not yet confirmed, LGR may result in modifications to this Contract. Potential impacts include changes to the contracting authority through novation, variations in service volumes or values, and adjustments to the scope of Services required. Any changes will remain aligned to the existing nature of the Contract, although related additional Services may be required. A number of successor authorities may require access to the Services and the Contract will accommodate their entitlement to do so. Applicants should be aware of this forthcoming reform and be prepared to work collaboratively with the Council to support transition and ensure continuity of Services. The financial values set out in this Tender Notice are indicative estimates and are presented at current prices as of the date of publication, therefore may be subject to change. The Council is providing the total estimated value of the Contract in accordance with the PA23 requirements on valuing contracts and for transparency purposes. The estimate is however provided purely as a guide, and the Council makes no guarantees in terms of scope, demand, or costs. Full details of the procurement procedure, the intended Contract, required Services, and the process for expressing an interest in this opportunity are detailed within the associated tender documents. The Council reserves the right to abandon the procurement and is not bound to award any contract arising from this Tender Notice. Applicants are solely responsible for all costs and expenses incurred in relation to the preparation and submission of their PSQ Response, as well as any costs arising from participation in subsequent stages of the procurement, assessment, and contract award process.